Opa!
by Happymood
Summary: AU Culture shock would be too big of an understatement. Kiku really didn't like all those Greeks kissing him on the cheek but they were Herakles' family and Kiku loved him. So, he had to endure everything for his sake and smile. But... Giripan. DISCONTINUED.
1. Prologue

**_A.N. This is a story that popped out in my head while watching (for the millionth time) My Big, Fat, Greek Weeding. For now I'm posting the prologue but if people are interested in this, I might continue! :) For the time being, enjoy! _**

_Prologue_

What Honda Kiku had to say about this story was that this wasn't the story of how they fell in love. Well, he couldn't deny that _that_ story was interesting too…

Honda Kiku had been a perfectly normal boy before he met Herakles. Okay, maybe a little over-obsessed with anime and manga, liked to draw doujinshi and read very… _interesting_ things but, all in all, he was perfectly normal.

Herakles had barged into his life unexpectedly but had became an important part of it slowly, quietly like a cat's footsteps, and sooner that Kiku could figure out what happened, Herakles became his.

Or did he become Herakles'? Oh, it didn't matter.

Herakles Karpuzi was a Greek, twenty-three year old man, who went to study in Japan for a year or so. They went in the same University and Kiku was assigned to help the boy with his new life in Tokyo. Admittedly, Kiku didn't like him all that much in the beginning. Herakles was lazy, stared at him too much for his tastes, talked too slowly (but Kiku at first thought it was because Herakles didn't speak well Japanese) and had a very unique view of the world.

Okay, enough with the denial. Kiku had fallen in love with Herakles at first sight.

It just took him a lot to realize it.

They spent most of the time together, teaching about each other cultures, Herakles managed something that no one else had before and that was making Kiku open up to someone else.

Herakles was his first. Even if he denied they ever had sex for a long time…

Somewhere in the middle of the year Kiku discovered a new aspect of Herakles when he met his roommate, a passionate Turk, whom Herakles didn't like that much. The feelings were reciprocal and suddenly Kiku found himself in a love triangle that lasted for half a year before he decided that he really loved Herakles and wanted to stay with him.

Poor Sadik. Herakles never stopped rubbing it into his face.

But this wasn't the story of how they fell in love, wasn't it?

Kiku really wished it was because then it would have been easier to narrate. But this story started somewhere in the middle of May, when they were already an official couple, when Herakles offered to spend the summer together in Greece and Kiku had accepted.

"My family will be thrilled to meet you…"

Kiku didn't even thought about it back then.

But now, as the pilot announced that they were going to arrive in Athens's airport in ten minutes or so, Kiku started to have doubts and he felt cold shivers run down his spine. Herakles took his hand and told him that it was going to be alright. His calm voice had soothed Kiku at first but then he suddenly felt panic again when they stepped out of the airport and came face to face with twenty Greeks or so, waiting for them.

Herakles grabbed his hand and waved at them. All twenty waved back.

Herakles made two step forwards. Kiku felt like dying in that moment when those twenty Greeks turned to look at him at Herakles' first words:

"Mum, dad…" Herakles had said, "This is Kiku…"

"Kiku!" everyone yelled and run to hug him.

Well, this is how the story begins.

This is the story where Kiku met his boyfriend's family and everything went downhill.


	2. Meeting the family

_Meeting the family_

When Kiku talked about his parents, he talked about them with all the respect he could. He never talked badly of them, or recited funny anecdotes about them. There was nothing to say, really. They were a really normal family. Or, at least, that was what Kiku defined as normal. His mother and father never showed affection to him outside home and when he was thirteen kisses and hugs became quite a taboo, because he was too big for things like that.

Unthinkable was showing any kind of emotion in public too. If he happened to sneeze outside in the streets, he would blush madly for hours after that. So it wasn't that strange for him to find the whole hold-hands idea pretty absurd.

And now, there, somewhere in Athens's airport, far away from home, he was surrounded by _twenty _people hugging him and kissing him on the cheeks (twice, one on each cheek, he counted, that made forty kisses in total) all together.

To cut a long story short, he really felt uncomfortable. Herakles did nothing to help him, too absorbed in answering all his parent's questions, and Kiku reckoned that Herakles would be too distracted to even hear his shouts for help.

Kiku needed help. A lot of it, in fact. Twenty persons were talking to him, twenty questions per minute, twenty questions in _Greek. _The only things he could say in Greek were 'Good morning', 'Thank you' and 'The bill, please', not that the Greeks could understand what he said, though. His pronunciation was terrible.

Kiku realized then that 'Good morning', 'Thank you' and 'The bill, please' wouldn't help him out of this situation anyway.

"Please, let him breath…", someone on his right suddenly said and everyone stopped asking him questions and turned to look at the source of the voice. Kiku let out a sight of relief and made to thank (at least he knew how to say that) the person that came to help him.

A woman with long, chestnut, curly hair smiled at him. Her eyes were the same color of her hair and she looked a lot like Herakles. She reached her hand out to him and Kiku shook it, tentatively, more accustomed in bowing than shaking hands.

"Hello…" she said, her Greek accent evident, "I'm Olympia, Herakles' mother…", she put two hands over her chest where the heart was and then turned to look at a man standing by her side. The man wasn't really fat, but he wasn't skinny either, and he stared at him with green olive eyes, straight into his soul. They were Herakles' eyes, Kiku could recognize them anywhere.

"This is Perikles, my husband…" Olympia said then. Perikles smiled at him and grabbed Kiku's hand in his and shook it.

"Nice to meet you…" Perikles said, his voice calm and slow-paced. Kiku smiled a little back and tried to free himself from that fierce grip.

"And I'm Aphrodite!", a young girl suddenly showed up, taking Kiku's other hand, and smiling at him. Her eyes were brown, just like Olympia's, and her hair were dyed blond. She must be seventeen years old, Kiku thought. "I'm Herakles' sister!" she added then, her voice cheerful and so unlike her brother's. Kiku suddenly felt a hand around his shoulder and he turned a little around to see Herakles stand next to him. He suddenly felt very reassured.

"You didn't need to come all together…" Herakles said, staring at the rest of the family.

"We were too curious, darling!" a chubby woman said, "You always talk about this friend of yours!" she laughed and took Kiku's hand. "I'm Irene, Herakle's aunt, Perikles' sister…" she continued, "And these are my son, Herakles, and my daughter, Aphrodite…" she pointed to them. They were around their thirties and they smiled back at Kiku. Kiku felt a sense of déjà vou and looked at Herakles in question. Herakles didn't understand what Kiku's dilemma was. (1)

The daughter was carrying a baby boy in her arms, who looked at him with his perceive look. Kiku wondered if all the Karpouzi family had that look that could penetrate inside souls.

"This is my brother Alexandro, but he likes to be called Alekos…" continued Irene. An intimidating man waved at Kiku, an amused smile under his mustache. "And here are his sons, Herakles and Dimitri. Aphrodite couldn't come because…"

"Aunt, please…" Herakles suddenly stopped her, "Kiku has all the time in the world to meet the family. You are making him dizzy…"

"Oh, don't worry… I…" Kiku suddenly said, feeling in the spotlight. Irene looked at them both, surprised. Kiku wanted the earth just to open up and eat him whole.

"He's right, Irene…" another woman said, her curly hair tied in a high ponytail, "We have all the time of the world. I'm Theodora, by the way…" she said taking Kiku's hand in her soft one, "Olympia's sister…"

"Nice to meet you…" Kiku said then, suddenly feeling relaxed.

"Okay then…" Irene said, "So you'll have to come eat at my house one of these days and meet the whole family! Herakles, did you told your friend I'm the best cook in the family? Tell him! Tell him!"

"Yes, aunt…" Herakles said, quite annoyed, "You are."

"I'm sure you must be a great cook…" Kiku said, always the diplomat.

"I'll cook whatever you like!" Irene said, suddenly jolly again, "Do you eat lamb?"

"Aunt!", Aphrodite suddenly exclaimed, "You are scaring him!" she laughed, "My feet hurt and I want to go home! Can't we go already?"

"You must be tired!" Olympia suddenly said, taking Kiku's hand and dragging him away from Herakles. Kiku shot a look at his boyfriend, but Herakles was being dragged away by some cousins of his. Kiku was doomed, he knew he was.

Aphrodite took his other hand and both women started talking to him in unison and Kiku, too tired to listen to what they really were saying, nodded at every word. They practically pushed him inside the car, Perikles sat in the driver's seat, and Herakles was pushed in the front passenger's one. Kiku felt lost without him and with Aphrodite and Olympia sitting next to him, talking animatedly to each other, he wondered if Herakles and he were going to ever have a moment alone.

Herakles was watching him worriedly from the car's mirror and, unknown to Kiku, he wondered the same thing too.

Fortunately, the ride to Herakles home wasn't that long. It took them half an hour to get to the little house the Karpouzi family lived in. It was almost midnight and it was dark, so Kiku didn't have the chance to appreciate it much. He could hear the waves somewhere in the background but he really couldn't pinpoint where exactly the sea was. In that moment, he just wanted to sleep.

Perikles helped him with his luggage and Olympia showed him quickly around the house, before she escorted him one of the bedrooms, Herakles in tow. Aphrodite waved at him goodnight and disappeared inside another room. The bedroom he was going to stay was small and there was only one bed, while a mattress-turned-bed lay a little away from it. The walls were decorated with what Kiku realized was Greek football teams' posters and there were some books lying on a desk near the now closed window. Kiku immediately recognized it as Herakles' room. He looked at the mattress and then at Herakles, who was talking with his mother.

"So, wake me up if there are any problems…" Olympia was saying.

"We should be okay, mum…" Herakles said, "Don't worry…"

"If that's the case…" she said, still a little apprehensive, and smiled, "Goodnight!" and closed the door behind her. Herakles stared at the door for a moment then put his and Kiku's luggage in an angle of the room. Kiku was preparing himself to sleep when he noticed Herakles making his way to the mattress on the floor.

"No, Herakles…" Kiku suddenly stopped him, "I can't take your bed!"

Herakles looked at him, his clothes already on the floor. It took Kiku a lot of willpower not to blush.

"Come on, Kiku…" Herakles said, matter of fact-ly, "You are my guest and… well, my family will have my head if I let you…"

"Okay, but!" Kiku cut him, "It doesn't bother me if I sleep there and you take your old bed…"

Herakles shot him a look and then, without another word, laid down on the mattress, leaving the bed for Kiku. Kiku was left sighing at Herakles' stubbornness. He put on his pajamas, because he slept that way, unlike Herakles who found it perfectly fine to sleep with just his underwear. He shot a last look at Herakles, who had his back turned to him, and laid down on the bed (that unfortunately didn't smell at all like Herakles but just of clean sheets). He stared at the ceiling for a while. His body was tired but he couldn't sleep just yet.

He thought about Aphrodite and Herakles' parents and wondered how they were going to be like in the next days. Then he thought about Herakles, how he should be feeling. If he told his parents that they were… well…

"Herakles…" Kiku suddenly whispered. He knew Herakles long enough to know when the other was sleeping or not. Expectedly enough, he heard Herakles turn around in his "bed".

"Yes?" he said in Japanese, probably to make Kiku feel at ease. Kiku wanted to smile and then said:

"I can't sleep knowing you are sleeping uncomfortably…" he responded. Herakles sighed again. "Please…" Kiku continued, gulping a little, "Come here…"

"There's not enough space…" Herakles said.

"I'm not that fat, Herakles…" Kiku wanted to laugh but he was afraid he would wake the rest of the family up. "Come…" he commanded and shifted to give the other space. A moment later the bed creaked and Kiku felt Herakles' heat against his skin. It felt really comfortable.

"Do you pretend to be shy or…?" Herakles teased, Kiku just let him hug him.

"I'll die if your parents catch us in this position…" Kiku responded, truthfully, "But I…"

"You are so soft…" Herakles said instead, his voice already drowsy. Kiku decided it was time to sleep. He felt Herakles' arms around him and he couldn't refrain himself for putting his head on Herakles' chest.

"Goodnight…" Kiku said, in his language.

"'night…" said Herakles in Greek. They both fell asleep after that.

: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

(1) In Greece it's tradition to give your parent's name to your child. Traditionally, the husband's parent's names come first. As a result, all cousins come to share the same names.


	3. The first morning

_The first morning_

Greece's summer nights were really hot.

That was what Kiku realized at some point in the middle of the night. He was sweating. Pajamas had been a _really _bad idea and Herakles clinging to him that way wasn't making anything easier.

The window was open but the air coming in didn't alleviate the heat. No. Kiku needed to get out of his clothes. He tried to take off his shirt without waking Herakles up. Not that it was difficult: Herakles wouldn't wake up even in the middle of an air attack.

A second later, Kiku had managed to drop his shirt on the floor. Better. _Much_ better. Of course it was still too hot for his tastes, but at least he could sleep a little better now.

Without another though, Kiku fell back asleep.

He woke up four hours later.

For a moment, Kiku really thought he was in his little apartment back in Tokyo, lying beside the only man he wanted to spend his life with, not really in the mood to leave the comforts of his bed just because he had class in an hour or so.

But something didn't really feel right with his room. First of all, he didn't know he possessed all those posters and really… who were they, in the first place? All looking so serious and not-Japanese like…

Oh, wait.

He was in Greece. In Herakles' room. In Herakles' bed. On the other side of the wall, Herakles' parents and sister were (probably) sleeping and he was… in Herakles' bed, yes… And those were Herakles' arms around him. Kiku looked up and felt Herakles' soft breathing on his skin: he was still sleeping. How _un_usual.

They should stand up. Really. Kiku didn't want anyone in Herakles' family to suddenly open the door and caught them like this. That would be really uncomfortable…

"Herakles…" he whispered and poked the other on the shoulder. Herakles moved slightly, but didn't stir, and just hugged Kiku tighter. Kiku sighed and poked the other again, harder this time. "Come on, Herakles…" he tried again but it was a lost cause. He tried to move around and find a clock to see what time it was. His eyes traveled around the room until he noticed the little alarm clock on Herakles' night table, just behind Herakles himself. Kiku sighed again, propped himself on his elbows to see the time better and suddenly realized... he was naked…

Okay. Not _entirely _naked, but he missed his shirt. Where was it? Now it would be more embarrassing if someone caught them. He shot a glance at the clock: eight o'clock. If he was lucky, Herakles' family would be all like Herakles and would be sleeping till noon.

He had time.

He could get up before everybody else.

If only Herakles didn't tighten his hold every time Kiku tried to move. No. He _had _to wake him up if he wanted to start dressing up.

"Herakles…!" he tried again, a little louder this time and much nearer to Herakles' ear. Herakles made a silly face and Kiku felt like laughing. "Come on… I need to get up…"

"Why…" Herakles voice startled Kiku, because he really thought Herakles was still sleeping. "It's still morning and we're on vacation… sleep…"

Herakles opened an eye and stared at Kiku for a moment, a faint smile on his lips. He was teasing him, Kiku knew, and he scowled at him.

"Herakles, please…" Kiku said, "I can't sleep knowing someone could walk in…"

"You are so shy…" Herakles closed his eyes again. Kiku wanted to groan. "Who cares… let them know you are mine and… mine…" a yawn and soft breathing. Did Herakles fell asleep just like that?

Kiku blushed at Herakles words and tried to push Herakles away. The Greek groaned and finally let him go. Kiku sighed in victory and made to stand in a sitting position, but suddenly he felt Herakles sit up too and push him roughly back on the bed, with Herakles on top.

"Got you!" Herakles said and Kiku narrowed his eyes up at him. "Will you relax a little?" he said then, leaning a little closer. "It's…" Herakles glanced at the door, "…still too early… let's sleep…"

"No…" Kiku said, "It's late and I slept enough…" he tried to move again but Herakles above him didn't let him. Herakles was looking at him funny and Kiku suddenly felt his cheeks burn. "What?"

"When did you take your pajamas off…?" Herakles suddenly asked and there was something akin to a grin on his lips. "You took your pajamas off?" he was teasing him. Kiku wanted to punch him. If only the punch would hurt Herakles just a bit…

"I was hot, okay?" Kiku suddenly exclaimed, a little too loud. He bit his tongue and blushed.

"Yes, indeed…" Herakles said then and Kiku blushed even more. "You are…" Herakles whispered and Kiku looked up to see Herakles leaning a little more down. Unconsciously, Kiku leaned a little up and then… they were kissing.

Damn him. How did he manage to do that every time? How did Herakles manage to turn a situation from utterly embarrassing, to utterly sexy in a mater of seconds? Kiku really need some kind of antidote against Herakles' flirting. This is what Herakles used to get him in bed the first time and this is how it was going to be forever…

Not that Kiku was complaining.

Kiku shot his arms up and pulled him closer. Herakles' hands were already all over his body and for a second Kiku forgot he was in Herakles' house (meaning, in dangerous territory) for good.

Until the door suddenly slammed open…

"Rise and shine!" a woman's voice said, "Today is a really nice and…"

Silence. Kiku's eyes became wide as saucers and with his ninja skills managed to get away from under Herakles' in an instant. Herakles fell on the floor with a loud thump and shot a murderous look at the intruder.

Kiku wanted to die, as Herakles' sister, Aphrodite stared at them with her mouth slightly open and a blush tinting her cheeks. Her hand was still clutching the knob and Kiku immediately picked his shirt up and put it on.

It really looked suspicious. Aphrodite was watching his every move.

Oh, God. He wanted to _die_.

"Aphrodite, it's morning!" Herakles suddenly exclaimed, making everyone turn to look at him. "Why are you here…?"

"Err…" Aphrodite looked at her brother, "… I… oh, my god, I'm so sorry! I didn't want to interrupt… I'm coming back later…" and made a step backwards.

"No! It's not what it looked like!" Kiku suddenly exclaimed, his face so red. He wanted to blend in with the posters and be one of the football players staring at them. Nothing but a photo on a wall… maybe if he pressed into them hard enough…

Aphrodite was looking at him again. She opened her mouth for a moment, then closed it again, and then almost smiled. In the meantime, Herakles had managed to stand up and sat down on the bed again.

"Are you two _lovers_…?" Aphrodite suddenly whispered, making the situation far more embarrassing. "Oh, God! So…" she looked at Herakles, "When you said you were friends… you meant… _boyfriends_..." (1)

Aphrodite wasn't making any sense, if Kiku had to be sincere.

"How long this is going on?" Aphrodite said then, "Have you two… oh, my… you were _now_, weren't you?" she was smirking and Kiku didn't like it one bit.

"Many times…" Herakles said, "…but not now, because you interrupted. Now could you please leave us alone?"

Kiku hid his face in his hands and groaned. Please, somebody kill him.

"Darling, it's everything okay?" suddenly Olympia said, turning up behind her daughter. She shot a glance inside the room and her mouth turned into a little 'o'.

"Yes, mum… we are sleeping together…" Herakles suddenly said, "Could you please leave us alone now?"

"Herakles!" Kiku suddenly exclaimed and looked at Olympia and Aphrodite, who were looking at him again.

"You do use condoms, right?" Olympia said. Kiku knew he died the moment her words were out. Was that the famous white light they always talked about?

To make everything more difficult, Olympia came in the room, making a bee line to Kiku. Kiku pressed himself against the wall, expecting everything, but he was shocked when he actually felt Olympia's arms encircle him.

"Oh, Herakles should have told us you were an item! I would have given you the guest room, up in Grandma's apartment… oh, I'm so happy for you!"

"Er…" Kiku shot a look at Herakles, who was sighting and was putting on his clothes, with a displeased scowl on his face. "No, it's really not necessary…" Kiku suddenly said. "We are _not _sleeping together…"

Herakles shot him a look but didn't comment. Olympia was looking at him, all smiles, and put her hands on his cheeks.

"You are such a nice boy…" she said, "I'm sorry Aphrodite interrupted you… but you'll have all summer before you…" Kiku blushed, "… come in the kitchen for breakfast now… my husband is waiting for you…"

"Oh, yes. Dad!" Aphrodite suddenly exclaimed. "He isn't going to be happy about this…"

"Oh, he'll understand…" Olympia said, waving nonchalantly at her daughter. Kiku and Herakles shared a look and for a first time Kiku saw fear in Herakles' eyes.

If he thought being caught was embarrassing, Kiku didn't know what was in store for him…

: : : :

(1) Sometimes the word "friend" in Greek (filos) can be used as "boyfriend" too. Of course, not everybody uses it that way, but I thought the situation would be more comical if Herakles did.


	4. The father's reaction

_The father's reaction_

Before he had started dating Herakles, Kiku had heard many stories about how parents reacted when they found out their son was involved with another man. When Herakles started dating him, Kiku had discovered that most of those stories were true.

On the other side, he had seen many guys denying they were having an affair with their roommate until the day they died and, he was ashamed to say, that he too would had been one of those guys if it wasn't for a series of circumstances that he wasn't going to explain right then but that didn't permit him to join the denial-club.

To cut a long story short, Kiku wasn't different from any other guy that found himself falling in love with another man.

Herakles was.

Herakles took every change as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Now, Kiku wasn't sure if Herakles was really like that or he just pretended to be that calm about everything. He just knew he hadn't seen Herakles scared about something for a while.

Nevertheless, after a moment of shock, Herakles begged his mother and sister not to tell his father, because he wanted to be the one to break the news.

Kiku felt his heart beat fast in his chest. He had been the one that hadn't wanted to confess to Herakles' parents that they were an item and Herakles, unexpectedly of course, had complied and hadn't say a word. Now they were facing the consequences and Kiku feared Perikles was going to shout at them and even kick them out of the house.

But Perikles was different too, as different as his son was from any other guy Kiku had met until then. Perikles did something much more insufferable, something that both Herakles and Kiku felt like a stab in the heart.

Herakles dressed (put on a shirt, to tell the truth) and went to confront his father, while Kiku remained behind with Herakles' mother and sister.

Olympia offered him a cup of coffee, her smile not faltering once as the two men of the house talked on the other side of the living room. Olympia told Kiku that they usually didn't eat much for breakfast and that they just drank some coffee and ate some biscuits, cornflakes or bread with butter and honey, if they were that hungry.

"What do you need, Kiku?" Aphrodite even asked, seeing that Kiku was too nervous to even touch his cup of coffee.

"Should I prepare you a toast? Come on, Kiku, you should eat something." Olympia said, smiling. They were trying to get his attention away from the two men talking, he knew, but it was pointless, and until the moment Herakles would sit down next to him and tell him everything was alright, Kiku didn't think he could eat. Nevertheless, Olympia stood up and prepared him something to eat.

Soon enough, both Perikles and Herakles stopped talking and came to sit with them at the kitchen table. Perikles shot a look at Kiku, then filled his cup with coffee as if the little Japanese man wasn't there. Herakles did the same. The silence was unbearable.

"So… that was unexpected, huh?" Aphrodite suddenly said. Perikles and Herakles shared a look again.

"It was, honey…" Perikles said in English, his voice slow and calm. "I never expected my son to be like this. You know…" he looked up at Herakles, "…you and Katerina looked like the perfect couple. Maria, Sofia, Anna and Georgia were nice too. Sarah, Danai and… what was her name again? Klio? They were really beautiful…."

Every name made Kiku dizzy and if Kiku hadn't wanted to eat before, now he felt too sick to even give the tiniest bite.

"Oh, Olympia!" Perikles suddenly said, "I totally forgot about Dimitra! What a nice girl she was… and, of course, Panagiota. She was lovely…"

Kiku closed his eyes for a second. He imagined all those girls, one after the other kissing Herakles on the lips.

"Dad, stop." Herakles suddenly said. Kiku didn't dare to look up at Herakles' face.

When Kiku started dating Herakles, he knew that the other man had more experience that he had. Kiku had had just one girlfriend in his whole life and that had been in third grade.

After hearing all those names, Kiku really felt like an idiot.

"Why?" Perikles said, sincerely confused, "Doesn't your boyfriend know that you were dating girls before?"

Oh, great, Kiku thought. Now he was 'the boyfriend'. Things were getting out of control. He felt his hands clench into tiny fist and suddenly Herakles' hand was on his thigh.

"Please, dad. I know it's hard to understand…" Herakles continued and Kiku suddenly felt peaceful again.

"Yes, frankly, I don't understand at all." Perikles stated, "What did _I _do to you?"

"Perikles, darling." Olympia decided to pipe in, "It's not something he did just to spite you…"

"Of course it is." Perikles said, "I gave you food, clothes and I worked hard so you could go to Japan to study as you wished to and this is how you repay your parents? Turning gay?"

"I didn't turn gay, dad…" Herakles said, "I fell in love. That's it."

Perikles snorted.

"What you and Katerina had was love." Perikles said, suddenly standing up, "But, whatever. Do what you wish. Just don't come crying to me afterwards…" and he walked away. Everyone watched the oldest Karpouzi go and when he disappeared in his room, Olympia sighed and stood also up.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, darling." Olympia said and put her hands on Kiku's shoulders. "He… well… he will come around it… eventually…"

"I expected him to shout…" Aphrodite said out loud something that was inside everyone's heads.

"He did something worse. He decided to ignore Kiku…" Olympia said, her lips twisting in annoyance, "Oh. I can't stand this. I'm going to talk with him…" she exclaimed and made to follow her husband.

"No!"

Everyone turned to look at Kiku, who blushed.

"No, it's not necessary." Kiku said again, a whisper this time. Olympia looked at him, her face slowly turning soft and compassionate, to which Kiku felt even worse. "I'm not going to stay here for long anyway and I don't want your family to fight over me. It's no use."

Olympia stared at him for a long moment, then sighed and sat down again. Kiku decided to make her happy by biting into the toast she made for him and he noticed with the corner of his eyes that Olympia's mood got slightly better at that.

Herakles' face was impassible. Kiku felt so angry at him, in that moment. After hearing all those names, his jealously had increased a lot, but he was trying to calm himself down. After all, Herakles was with him now and not with… Katerina.

"Who's Katerina?" Kiku suddenly asked, not refraining himself. Herakles abruptly turned to look at him and his clueless face made his sister start laughing.

Kiku never had the chance to learn who this Katerina was, because in that moment the doorbell rang and Kiku met another member of the family….


	5. The Grandma

_The Grandma_

Aphrodite immediately stood up and went to open the door.

"Good morning, grandma!" she shouted then and startled Kiku, who was used to Herakles' calm tone of voice.

"Good morning, sweetie!", came the reply.

Kiku finally decided to stood up and greet the oldest member of the Karpouzi family. He was glad he had a chance to leave his breakfast untouched: he couldn't stand Olympia and Herakles' worried glances and the arrival of the Grandma was the perfect opportunity. He had heard a lot of things about her from Herakles himself and he was quite anxious to meet her.

He imagined her to be austere but fun to be with. A woman who liked to wear all the colors of the rainbow but that was severe when she talked. In a word, Kiku didn't really have a clue.

The old lady walked in the kitchen, slow and leaning against her granddaughter, who kept speaking to her in that strange, harsh, language that Kiku couldn't learn. She kept squinting her eyes, because she couldn't see well, and she inspected the place with a soft smile on her lips. She was petit and she wore black robes (1) that made her look even smaller.

Kiku wondered what Aphrodite was telling her, and immediately realized the topic of conversation when the woman's eyes literally pierced his soul. She stared at him, hard and scrutinizing, and Kiku's heart started beating fast against his chest. He dared to look at Herakles and, considering Herakles didn't look that pleased either, understood that his worries weren't unfounded.

Kiku decided it was time for him to talk and let out a strangled "Good morning", the only phrase he was sure he pronounced well in Greek. The Grandma didn't respond, she just let go of Aphrodite and made a bee line to him. Kiku was openly sweating now.

"Grandma…" Herakles started. The Grandma ignored him and just took Kiku's face in her palms.

"You are no Turk, right?" she asked, her English just as bad as his. Kiku would have fainted right then and there.

"N-no…" he stuttered. The Grandma pierced him with her eyes and after a long moment of silence, took her palms away from his face.

"And you love my boy…" the Grandma said, more than a statement than a question. Kiku didn't know if he should answer or not. Either way, the Grandma beat him to it. "Welcome to the family then, young no Turk boy!" she smiled at him and encircled his shoulders, kissing him once on each cheek.

Kiku thought he died and he was glad when Herakles took his hand in his, without pulling him away from the Grandma's embrace.

"His name is Kiku, Grandma." Herakles decided to say then. Grandma let Kiku finally go and looked at her grandchild. She smiled brightly and hugged him. "You scared him." He added, to which the Grandma laughed softly.

"I needed to check." She said and then looked at her grandson once more. "Oh, you are so grown!", then she started touching Herakles ribs and her smile vanished. "What did you eat there? You are so… _thin_. They didn't give you food where you went?", then she looked at Kiku again, "You didn't feed him?"

What Kiku immediately imagined was Herakles looking like a cat, meowing to be fed. Of course, in that moment, as the Grandma looked at him so sternly, the image didn't look that ridiculous.

"He took very good care of me, Grandma…" Herakles said, almost laughing at Kiku's terrified face. The Grandma seemed relieved at that, put a hand on Kiku's shoulder and started "feeling him up" too. She immediately narrowed his eyes at him, too.

"You don't eat too!" she scolded him. Kiku looked down, trying to look at himself. He thought he looked fine but the Grandma didn't seem to agree. "Don't worry. I'll cook for you now." She decided then, with a smile.

"Oh, you don't need to exert yourself!" Kiku immediately said, diplomatic as ever. The Grandma waved at him nonchalantly and smiled at him.

"You are such a good boy, Kiku!" she said, making Kiku blush, then she looked at Herakles: "You made a good choice!"

"I…" Kiku blushed even more when Herakles pulled him closer and nodded at his Grandma.

"Unfortunately, not anyone believes so…" Aphrodite said then, making her presence known once more. Her statement gained the Grandma's attention and she looked at her granddaughter, curious.

"Dad threw a fit." The younger member of the family explained. "We didn't know they were an item until this morning and, well… he didn't take it well…"

"Of course he didn't. No one expected it." Grandma said, her voice not at all angry or disapproving, and Kiku wondered for a moment since when did she know. He dared to look at Herakles and the lack of surprise on the other's face, made Kiku realize that the Grandma knew long time about them.

"You told her?" he asked in Japanese, not containing himself. Herakles didn't answer.

"I'll talk to him, though." The Grandma said and put a hand on Kiku's shoulder, making him look away from Herakles. "Why you two don't go out?" she suggested. "The sea is near, you can go there!"

"Perfect!" Aphrodite exclaimed, "I'm coming too!" and she run out of the kitchen, probably to prepare and take her things.

"I suppose we could…" Kiku said then. He couldn't wait to get out of that house. Perikle's negative aura was still soaking his bones and he realized he should leave so Herakles' father could sort out his feelings.

"Great!" Grandma said and pushed them both away. Herakles raised an eyebrow at her but then he made his way back to his room with a sigh. Kiku followed him, glad he had taken his bathing suit with him.

Herakles and Kiku were ready in a moment, only Aphrodite took her sweet time. In the time being, Kiku finally appreciated Herakles' house. It was a cozy apartment. The bedrooms were small in relation to the really big living room and kitchen. Kiku was accustomed to his house, where every room was just as big as every other room. The walls were full of photographs, from black and white ones showing faces Kiku didn't recognized, to colored ones, showing Aphrodite and Herakles when they were kids.

"They are like the night with the day. Totally opposite." Olympia told him, showing him a photo of a tiny, sleeping Herakles. "Aphrodite is always running, while Herakles prefers sleeping." The woman smiled and put the photo back in its place.

Next to the photos, religious icons looked down at Kiku with a mixture of austerity and softness. There wasn't a room where there wasn't at least one icon and Kiku suddenly realized why Herakles always wore that little cross around his neck.

"His νοννά (*godmother) gave it to him, when he was baptized…"

The sofa's and the beds had an old look on them, as if he had stepped into another time. Some kind of blankets covered all the couches and everything was kept clean and in order.

Kiku decided it was now time to take a look outside. There was big road before Herakles' house, while the sea stretched out behind it, calm and beautiful. Kiku could see people bathing and suddenly he wanted to be there with them.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Kiku looked around to see the Herakles looking at him. Kiku smiled and wondered where the rest of the family had gone. Herakles smiled back and put an arm around Kiku's shoulders and Kiku unconsciously leaned into the touch, his head almost resting on Herakles' chest.

"Greece is indeed beautiful." Kiku whispered.

"Where are you guys!" Aphrodite shouted from inside the house, "I'm ready to go!"

"Let's go…" Herakles said and took Kiku's hand in his.

* * *

><p>(1) If you come to Greece and notice an old lady wear black every day, it probably means that she had lost her husband at some point in time, and from that day on, she wears black, showing she is still mourning.<p> 


	6. The beach

_The beach_

Kiku underestimated Greece's sun.

He probably shouldn't call it "Greece's sun", because the sun is just one and it's the same for everybody in this world.

However, it seemed that in Greece it had a mind of its own.

Kiku realized he had underestimated Greece's sun just because he was thinking stupid things like this. He probably should have worn a hat, maybe his brain wouldn't have been damaged like this.

As soon as Aphrodite was ready to go, wearing just a bikini and taking just her big handbag with her, the three of them finally got away from the awful aura that reigned in the house.

Kiku wondered why Herakles wasn't scolding Aphrodite from being so revealing, when he realized that Herakles too had decided last-moment to leave his clothes behind and go to the beach with only his swimsuit on.

Kiku was wearing his swimsuit too: under the jeans, the t-shirt and the light coat (that soon realized wasn't light _enough_) he had. In his shock, he forgot the sun-hat. The only thing that he should had not forgotten.

Herakles told him to leave all his clothes behind, because, after all, they weren't that far from the house. Kiku politely refused.

As soon as they crossed the (dangerous) road, all the shock from the Europeans' idea of what they shouldn't wear was soon forgotten. The first thing he noticed was how crowded the beach was, the second thing was that the sea was amazing. He never saw a blue like those waters had and he couldn't wait to see if it would feel different on his skin too.

Maybe all that time with Herakles must had rubbed off on him and maybe that is why he decided that it wasn't going to be that bad if he didn't put his sun-cream on.

Big mistake.

In his defense, it was partially Herakles fault too. If the Greek hadn't swept him off his feet as soon as Kiku undressed and practically dived in the sea with Kiku in his arms, maybe Kiku would have remembered.

"No! No! HERAKLES!" Kiku shouted as Aphrodite laughed and dived in with them. The impact with the cold water was terrible and when he resurfaced, Herakles was laughing. "Idiot!" he shouted and splashed the already drenched Herakles.

"I couldn't resist…" Herakles said, his voice as calm as always, as if he hadn't done anything wrong. Aphrodite was swimming next to them and laughed too.

"Let's go deeper!" she exclaimed and started swimming away from them. Kiku shot another angry glance at Herakles and followed her.

"I said I was sorry!" Herakles shouted behind him. Minutes later, Kiku stopped and turned around.

"You didn't!"

Herakles was a breath away from him, still smiling like the idiot he was. They were away from the shore and there weren't any people anywhere near, he couldn't even see Aphrodite. It was then that Kiku had an idea. A crazy idea, but Herakles deserved it.

Greece was driving him mad.

Kiku slowly swam back to Herakles, who stared at him, waiting to see what was going to happen. Kiku smiled, Herakles smiled a little back, then he leaned in and kissed his Greek boyfriend on the lips.

The Greek boyfriend in question didn't complain. On the other, kissed him back with passion, and when Kiku was sure Herakles was lost in the kiss, he dived into the sea.

Herakles was too shocked to understand what was happening. He realized it when he felt two hands pulling his swimsuit off. By the time he reacted, it was already late: Kiku resurfaced with Herakles' swimsuit in his hands.

As if on cue, Aphrodite popped out from nowhere.

"Hey guys…" she asked, "What are you doing?" and then she noticed the swimsuit in Kiku's hands.

"Catch!" Kiku ordered and threw the swimsuit at her. Aphrodite grinned and caught it. The two of them started to laugh and as if they had rehearsed it, swam as fast as they could away from Herakles.

"Hey! Hey!" Herakles was shouting behind them. Kiku laughed and Aphrodite even waved the swimsuit at him as if it was a flag of some kind.

"Catch us if you can~" Aphrodite teased and the two of them swam over where the most people where swimming, not that that was refrained Herakles from doing anything. In a moment Herakles was where they were, he grabbed Aphrodite's leg and pulled her down.

She let go of the swimsuit then, but it was Kiku who now had it. Aphrodite shouted something at him in Greek, perhaps a warning of sorts but Kiku wasn't sure, and Herakles let go of Aphrodite and turned his attention to Kiku. Herakles was grinning.

Kiku started swimming fast then, but Herakles was faster and in a matter of seconds pulled Kiku down in the water and managed to get his swimsuit back.

"That's not fair!" Aphrodite shouted then, but she sounded more amused than upset. Kiku resurfaced and regained his breath as Herakles put his swimsuit back on in the water.

"You know… its kind of nice swimming in the nude…" Herakles said, to which Aphrodite twisted her mouth in disgust. "You should try, Kiku…" he said then, turning to look at the Japanese.

"No, I'm fine." Kiku stated and even swam a little away from Herakles, afraid he was going to try anything strange.

They stayed in the water for a long time after that and then decided it was time for them to get out. Aphrodite immediately opened her handbag, took her phone out and started sending messages. Herakles shot her a look but didn't comment and just laid down on his beach towel and fell immediately asleep.

Kiku smiled softly as he looked down as Herakles' slightly open mouth. He decided to lie down too and sunbathe. It felt really good….

Half an hour later, he woke up to the sound of Aphrodite and Herakles talking. Kiku felt his skin burn and he slowly opened his eyes, ashamed that he fell asleep like that. Aphrodite was still staring down at her mobile as she talked, while Herakles didn't look so happy.

"Well, you've got a boyfriend too, no?" Aphrodite was saying.

"Yes, but I met this Kostas and I don't like him…" Herakles said.

"I don't care." Aphrodite stated, "I love him."

"Aphrodite…" Herakles started but just then noticed Kiku slowly sitting up. Aphrodite stopped talking too and smiled at Kiku.

"Hey! Do you want to go in for another bath?" she asked, putting her phone away.

"Probably…" Kiku said. He felt dizzy and his skin felt too hot. "What time is it?"

"Twelve…" Herakles said, "Are you tired?"

"I'm fine." Kiku said. Aphrodite helped him stand up and pulled him towards the sea.

"Let's go!" she grinned. The contact with the water this time felt amazing, Kiku thought. He even imagined the steam come out of his pores. "Aren't you coming?" Aphrodite asked her brother.

"No. Have fun!" he said as the two of them swam away from the shore. When they were far enough, Kiku's curiosity finally took over.

"Who's Kostas?" he asked, blushing a little at his rudeness. Aphrodite looked at him and smiled.

"Oh, he's my boyfriend! We've been going out a year now!" she explained, "I've got his photo in my phone, I'll show after!"

"I see…" Kiku suddenly felt a little stupid for asking. They swam in silence for a long time, when suddenly he realized that he was hungry.

He hadn't eaten in the morning and now his stomach was grumbling. When he said so to Aphrodite, she looked at him a little confused.

"But it's just one o'clock!" she exclaimed.

"Isn't time for lunch?" Kiku asked then, confused as hell himself. Aphrodite just raised an eyebrow and Kiku decided he should just stop being so bothersome. He could endure the hunger; it wasn't such a big deal after all.

They returned back to HeraKles and found him sleeping on Kiku's bath towel. Aphrodite stood above him and literally squeezed the water out of there hair onto her brother.

"Cold!" Herakles shouted and shot comically up. Some people sunbathing around them started to laugh along with Aphrodite. Herakles shot her a murderous look. "What was that all about?"

"Your boyfriend is hungry." Aphrodite said. Kiku abruptly turned his head to her and blushed tenfold.

"I-I…"

"Oh, come on. I'm sure you don't have the same eating hours us we do." Aphrodite said, matter of fact-ly, "We can eat at three or at four p.m. if we feel like to… but I can't let you starve until then, no?"

"I can wait." Kiku said.

"She is right." Herakles said. Aphrodite smiled and started packing their things away in her big handbag, while Kiku felt like blushing tenfold because he thought he was a bother to everyone.

He was still red even when they went to a near _taverna _to eat fish, pommes frites and a big salad with tomatoes, cucumber and feta cheese.

He was still red when they paid the bill and he was still red when they decided they should head back home.

In that moment, they understood that Kiku wasn't red because he was shy.

"I feel quite dizzy…" Kiku suddenly said. Herakles put a hand on Kiku's forehead and shot a worried glance at Aphrodite.

"I think you got sunburned…" Aphrodite suddenly said, biting her lips.

Oh, Kiku thought. That was _great_.

* * *

><p><strong>A.N. Well, I'm glad you are enjoying it so far! :D It's strange to talk about sunburns and the sea, when Christmas is just around the corner. Well, Merry Christmas every body! And if I'm not going to update until then… and a Happy (mood) New Year! XD<strong>


	7. An invitation

_An invitation _

When they returned home, Kiku felt even worse, if that was even possible. He couldn't stop thinking about how dizzy and nauseous he felt. He just wanted to lie in bed and remain there till the year was over. Aphrodite kept talking to him, telling him what he should do, and Herakles kept shooting worried glances at him. Kiku felt even worse at that, because he didn't want to be a burden to anyone. He really should have been more careful.

"Could you stop repeating that?" Aphrodite suddenly said, quite pissed off. Kiku raised an eyebrow. Had he been thinking out loud?

"At least we are not far away from home." Herakles said, letting out a sigh. Kiku hid his face with his hands at that, and Herakles sighed louder at the gesture.

But things got worse when they finally arrived home. As soon as Aphrodite opened the front door, she shouted that they returned and that Kiku didn't feel well. Then everything went downhill.

Olympia came, took Kiku in her arms, and started reproving Herakles and Aphrodite for what happened.

The Grandma sighed, and said that probably someone gave the evil eye to Kiku and went in the kitchen to get oil to un-jinx him.

Perikles just said they should put yogurt on his skin, and went in the kitchen to get it.

Kiku, in the meantime, tried to pull away from Olympia's hold, and tried to say it was his fault that he got sunburned.

Kiku tried to tell the Grandma that he was okay, and that he didn't need to be un-jinxed.

"Nonsense. It will get worse if I don't do anything about it."

And, well. He didn't say anything to Perikles, but he seriously didn't want to spend the rest of the afternoon covered in yogurt. He tried to say so to Herakles, who told Perikles in Kiku's place.

"But it's good Greek yogurt!"

It was yogurt nonetheless, he wanted to say, but Kiku decided he should just shut up.

Olympia looked at him as a mother hen would do, and after shooting a murderous look at her real children, took Kiku to Herakles' bedroom, and tucked him in as if he was just ten years old (or less). The Grandma brought him ice to put on his forehead then, and, of course, the yogurt was brought to him too. Perikles put it on Herakles' bed table, and told him that everything would be alright if Kiku followed his advice.

Kiku thanked, and Perikles imperceptibly smiled, which was good, because that meant that Perikles didn't feel that angry at him so much anymore. Or at least that was what Kiku hoped. He closed his eyes, and sighed in delight as soon as the ice touched his skin. He remained like that for a long time, in silence. He heard Olympia and Perikles talking, but he couldn't understand a word they were saying. He heard someone taking a shower, and Aphrodite singing under the water.

Kiku almost fell asleep, but before he could, the door opened and he slightly moved to see who it was. It was Herakles.

"How are you feeling?" Herakles said, sitting down beside him. Kiku looked at Herakles and slightly nodded.

"Better, I suppose." He said, and took Herakles' hand.

"I brought you a cream you could use instead of the yogurt. I know you don't feel comfortable putting it on yourself."

"Thanks…" Kiku said, taking the tube of cream from Herakles' other hand. "I think I'm not going to the beach for a long time." Kiku added then, spreading some cream on himself. Herakles laughed.

"Tomorrow you'll be fine." Herakles said, "But." He smiled and caressed Kiku's cheek. "Let's go to the Acropolis tomorrow, instead of the beach. I know it's something you always wanted."

Kiku looked at Herakles and smiled. Herakles looked happy with it, and suddenly stood up.

"I'll let you sleep now." Herakles said, and then yawed himself. "I'm going to sleep in the living room."

Kiku nodded and closed his eyes again. He wanted to tell Herakles to sleep besides him instead, but remembering Perikles was just around the corner, he just turned around and fell asleep.

He didn't know how long he slept. He just knew that when he woke up, the whole house was extremely silent. He checked his forehead, gladly noticed he wasn't burning that much anymore, and decided to stand up. His skin hurt, so he put some more cream on him. Then, he opened Herakles' door and stepped outside. The only sound was that of the cicadas outside. Herakles' parent's door and Aphrodite's one were closed. He wondered for a moment if they were inside, and then walked to where the living room.

As soon as he stepped inside he saw Herakles' and his Grandmother sleep soundly on the two couches in front of the television. Kiku realized then that the rest of the family must be sleeping too, and decided to take advantage of it, and went to take a shower. The salt on his skin itched and he couldn't wait to take it off.

It was half past five in the afternoon when everybody finally woke up. Kiku had prepared some coffee for everyone in the mean time, and, as soon as Olympia found out, he was scolded for not sleeping some more.

"How are you now, sweetheart?" Olympia asked.

"Okay. Thanks."

"See? He was jinxed. It's all okay now." The Grandma said.

"I suppose so." Kiku said.

"Did you sleep well?" Aphrodite asked.

"Of course."

"Did you put the yogurt on?" Perikles asked.

"O-of course. Thanks."

Perikles seemed satisfied, and Kiku realized that this was the best way to please Herakles' father. He decided to keep being diplomatic to him for the rest of his stay in Greece, and hoped that in the end Perikles would accept him. As soon as Perikles realized that Kiku was fine, he left him in peace, contrary to the three women who still pestered him about.

"Leave him alone." Herakles said, then, putting an end to the annoying hassling.

"Oh, Herakles!" Perikles suddenly exclaimed from the living room. Everybody turned their attention to the oldest man of the family. "I wanted to tell you that your aunt called. We are invited to dinner tomorrow. They want to know all about your… friend."

"Oh, no! Dad!" Aphrodite immediately exclaimed, "I had a date with…!"

"You had a date with…?" Perikles immediately looked upset. Aphrodite, on the other hand, looked pissed, but didn't say anything. After drawing a sigh, Perikles added: "You know I don't like Kostas."

"Well, I don't care." Aphrodite said, "I had a date with him."

"Honey, your aunt invited us…." Olympia suddenly said, "You can see him another day."

"Fine!" Aphrodite suddenly exclaimed, took her phone, and left the room. Kiku raised an eyebrow, and wondered if Perikles was that negative with everybody's lovers in that house. The thought made him feel a little better, but then he remembered the famous Katerina, and his stomach started churning. He wanted to ask Herakles about it, and he shot a glance at Herakles, who was much more silent than usual.

Herakles was looking at a point beyond Kiku's reach, probably thinking about the oncoming dinner. Herakles didn't look so pleased, and Kiku wondered if his aunt was that bad.

He just had to wait and see.

: : : :

A.N. Sorry for the long delay! This is not much to make up for it, but I promise I'll post the next chapter much sooner. Thank you for sticking up with me, though! For that reviewer who commented on this story's title: You made me laugh, but I already knew that 'Opa' means Grandfather in German. In Greek is an exclamation like "Hurray!". It's not really translatable, though. It depends much on the situation you are using it.


	8. Around the city

_Around the city (alone for the first time)_

When Kiku woke up that morning, his whole body hurt. He went to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked awful: his skin was already starting to peel off and his whole face was bright red. Kiku groaned and put the cream Herakles had left on the sink the evening before on his face. It did help alleviate the pain, but his skin still looked as terrible as ever. He decided not to look at himself in the mirror for a long time and returned back to his room to put his clothes on.

All the other members of the family seemed to be still asleep, so he made the less noise possible and went to prepare breakfast for everyone. He was pouring coffee when Herakles suddenly showed up, yawning and stretching his arms over his head.

"Good morning." Kiku said. Herakles encircled his arms around the other's waist and kissed him behind his ears.

"Good morning." Herakles said and laughed when Kiku suddenly pushed him away.

"We are in your parent's house." Kiku said adamant. Herakles shrugged and sat down to drink his coffee.

"Do you want to leave before the rest of the family wakes up?" Herakles asked instead, yawning as he said so. Kiku immediately realized that Herakles had wanted to sleep, but that has pushed himself to wake up to make Kiku happy. Kiku felt his heart speed up.

"Shouldn't we tell them?" Kiku said. Herakles shrugged once more.

"Do you want the whole family with us on the Acropolis?"

That did the trick and Kiku left the kitchen to prepare his things for their little excursion around the city. He put on a lot of sun cream, then he took his favorite Nikon camera, and lastly he put a hat on, just in case. When he returned back to Herakles, the Greek stared at him for a while, in shock.

"What?" Kiku asked, suddenly afraid he hadn't put his pants quite right. Herakles tried hard not to laugh, but then stood up, went to take the car keys that stood on the living room's coffee table and said:

"Let's go!"

Kiku stared at him, but followed him, nonetheless.

"What is wrong?"

"You look so much like a crazed tourist." Herakles suddenly laughed, and Kiku looked down to check himself out. He didn't feel much different from any other time, and supposed it was just Herakles' way to tease him. Herakles made a bee line to a little black car and opened the driver's seat. When Herakles did that, Kiku suddenly stilled.

"You are driving?"

"Of course." Herakles said as if it was the most natural thing on the world.

What Kiku immediately realized about Herakles was that he was lazy. It took him a long time to do things, and he just preferred to sleep around rather than get something done. But when he was driving a car, it looked like Herakles was another person. He usually stepped to much on the accelerator and Kiku would always pray nothing would happen to Herakles when he was away.

That was why Kiku politely refused when Herakles offered to take him to the University when they were in Tokyo. Now that Kiku couldn't do otherwise, and, moreover, they weren't in Tokyo, where he was sure Herakles wouldn't speed as much as he would like, Kiku honestly feared for his own life.

He got in the passenger's seat and wondered why there was only on seatbelt and not more than two.

"Ready?" Herakles asked. Kiku shot him a nasty look. He was teasing him. Before he could say something, though, Herakles started the car and in a moment they were speeding down the main road. Kiku's eyes widened as Herakles drove, surpassing every car that was too slow for his tastes, and opening his hand at them (1).

Fortunately, Herakles had to slow down soon, as the road suddenly bottled from the traffic. Kiku sighed, and for the rest of the ride, he enjoyed the scene outside.

Herakles' house was far from the center of the city. Athens was huge and the traffic made everything worse, so it took them a lot to get to where they wanted. Kiku didn't mind, really, as he was happy they finally had the morning alone together. Parking in Athens was difficult too. Herakles drove round and round to finally find an open space. Fortunately tough, they were in the Acropolis' proximity, and Kiku was surprised to see the Parthenon stare down at him behind a block of houses.

He knew that that was his destination, but to see it suddenly like that, made him abruptly realize that he wasn't in Japan anymore. He started to walk faster than Herakles, up to where the road that led to the Acropolis was, as if he had been living there for all his life.

Kiku started taking photographs of everything he saw. The place was full of tourists and Kiku met a group of Japanese too. They nodded at each other, politely, before Kiku followed Herakles to where the entrance for the Parthenon was. Kiku could say he was happy. He liked the way Herakles explained everything to him and took his hand as he did so. Herakles liked to talk about his country a lot, he was passionate about his history and his traditions, and Kiku liked listening to him.

The heat was unbearable, the sun burnt his already sensitive skin, but he was happy all the same. He looked up at the Greek flag standing in a little clearing up on the Acropolis, then down at the city standing at his feet. Kiku took some photographs and some tourists kindly offered to take a photograph of Herakles and Kiku together. It was a nice feeling, Kiku realized. It was like there was no difference between them: they weren't Americans, Swedish, or South Arabians up there anymore. They were just tourists. They had something in common: they could talk to each other as if they knew each other forever.

That feeling soon passed, though, when they went down to the Agora, the ancient center of political life in the city. Then they visited Monastiraki, one of Athens' neighborhoods, filled with boutiques, souvenir shops and shops of every kind. Kiku took a photo of the Pantanass church, standing in the middle of Monastiraki square. All the cafeterias were crowded, people of all over the world, were walking around the main roads, talking to each other and pointing at different souvenirs every shop had to offer.

They walked for ten minutes together until they finally reached Syntagma, which meant Constitution in Greek, as Herakles immediately explained. Kiku finally saw the Greek Parliament, surrounded by the national Gardens, which they visited immediately afterwards.

"Oh, look! The changing of the guards! We are so lucky!", a tourist pointed it out in that moment, and Kiku and Herakles looked over to where the tourist was pointing at. They stood all together and watched with fascination the Evzones, the members of the guard, with their strange uniforms parade before them.

Kiku looked up at Herakles, staring at the changing of the guards before him, and smiled. He was happy and he had taken a lot of photos. Herakles was there with him. Kiku had always wanted to make this trip with Herakles, and now that his dream became true, Kiku felt his heart clutch with love for the other man.

Herakles suddenly noticed him staring and turned around, eyebrow raised, at him. Kiku suddenly blushed and to cover his embarrassment, took another photo at nothing in particular.

* * *

><p>(1) It's the most common gesture of insult in Greece. You extend all fingers of your hand and present the palm to the other, the one you want to insult. It called "Moutza" and if you ever come in Greece, I'll ask you to refrain from doing so, as it can put you in serious trouble. If you want to signal the number 5 to someone, it would be better if you direct the palm at yourself or just don't overextend your fingers that much.<p> 


	9. AN  important

As you can see this is not an update... and I feel really sad to tell you there is not going to be one ever again. This never happened to me before, but I feel like giving up this story for good. I had so many ideas, but every time I sit down and decide that I need to write _something, _words just don't come out. It's frustrating because I liked this story so much, but I just can't do it. I'm really sorry. *bows down and asks for forgiveness* Nevertheless, I want to thank each and every one of you for all the favs, reviews, alerts and love for this fic. You guys are awesome. :) I hope to see you in another story I might write, or in those I am still writing. Again, I'm really sorry.

_Happymood


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